Reception apparatus, reception method, transmission apparatus, and transmission method

ABSTRACT

The present technology relates to a reception apparatus, a reception method, a transmission apparatus, and a transmission method, by which channel selection information can be acquired more efficiently. Provided is a reception apparatus, including: a reception unit that receives a broadcast wave of digital broadcasting using an IP (Internet Protocol) transmission system; a communication unit that receives first signaling information for acquiring broadcast content transmitted by the broadcast wave through communication with a server via a network; an acquisition unit that acquires, on the basis of the first signaling information, a physical parameter used in a physical layer in a hierarchy of a protocol of the IP transmission system; and a control unit that controls, on the basis of the physical parameter, operations of respective units that perform channel selection processing. The present technology is applicable to a portable receiver that is movable, for example.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is Continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.15/309,845, filed Nov. 9, 2016, which is a U.S. National Phase ofInternational Patent Application No. PCT/JP2015/063059 filed on May 1,2015, which claims priority benefit of Japanese Patent Application No.JP 2014-102316 filed in the Japan Patent Office on May 16, 2014. Each ofthe above-referenced applications is hereby incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present technology relates to a reception apparatus, a receptionmethod, a transmission apparatus, and a transmission method and moreparticularly to a reception apparatus, a reception method, atransmission apparatus, and a transmission method, by which channelselection information can be acquired more efficiently.

BACKGROUND ART

In terrestrial digital television broadcasting, an increase in receptionby not only a fixed receiver such as a television receiver but also aportable receiver such as a smartphone and a tablet terminal is assumed(e.g., see Patent Document 1).

Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2012-244496

SUMMARY OF INVENTION Problem to be Solved by the Invention

By the way, in order to receive a broadcast wave of terrestrial digitaltelevision broadcasting in a portable receiver, it is necessary toacquire channel selection information such as a frequency. However, aportable receiver that is movable is used in unspecified places.Therefore, it is not realistic to acquire channel selection informationthrough initial scanning in each case as in the fixed receiver used in aparticular place, and it is required to acquire the channel selectioninformation more efficiently.

The present technology has been made in view of the above-mentionedcircumstances to be capable of acquiring channel selection informationmore efficiently.

Means for Solving the Problem

A reception apparatus according to a first aspect of the presenttechnology is a reception apparatus including: a reception unit thatreceives a broadcast wave of digital broadcasting using an IP (InternetProtocol) transmission system; a communication unit that receives firstsignaling information for acquiring broadcast content transmitted by thebroadcast wave through communication with a server via a network; anacquisition unit that acquires, on the basis of the first signalinginformation, a physical parameter used in a physical layer in ahierarchy of a protocol of the IP transmission system; and a controlunit that controls, on the basis of the physical parameter, operationsof respective units that perform channel selection processing.

The acquisition unit may acquire, on the basis of pointer informationincluded in the first signaling information, the physical parameterincluded in second signaling information transmitted in a second layer,the second layer being a lower layer than a first layer in the hierarchyof the protocol of the IP transmission system, the first signalinginformation being transmitted in the first layer.

The pointer information may be information for accessing the physicalparameter in a particular service in accordance with a channel selectionoperation.

The pointer information may include a country code assigned to eachcountry, a first identifier assigned to each broadcaster as a uniquevalue, a second identifier assigned to each stream as a unique value,and a third identifier assigned to each service as a unique value.

The first signaling information may be an SDP (Session DescriptionProtocol), and the second signaling information may be an SCD (ServiceConfiguration Description).

The acquisition unit may acquire the physical parameter included in thefirst signaling information.

The physical parameter may include a center frequency, an identifier foridentifying a PLP (Physical Layer Pipe), and a value of a preambleincluded in a frame defined in the IP transmission system.

The physical parameter may include a center frequency, a value of anL1-pre signaling constituting a preamble included in a frame defined inthe IP transmission system, and a value of a target PLP (Physical LayerPipe) of L1-post signaling constituting the preamble.

The first signaling information may be an SDP (Session DescriptionProtocol).

The reception apparatus may be an independent apparatus or may be aninternal block configuring a single apparatus.

A reception method according to the first aspect of the presenttechnology is a reception method corresponding to the receptionapparatus according to the first aspect of the present technology.

In the reception apparatus and the reception method according to thefirst aspect of the present technology, a broadcast wave of digitalbroadcasting using an IP transmission system is received; firstsignaling information for acquiring broadcast content transmitted by thebroadcast wave is received through communication with a server via anetwork; on the basis of the first signaling information, a physicalparameter used in a physical layer in a hierarchy of a protocol of theIP transmission system is acquired; and on the basis of the physicalparameter, operations of respective units that perform channel selectionprocessing are controlled.

A transmission apparatus according to a second aspect of the presenttechnology includes: a generator that generates first signalinginformation for acquiring broadcast content transmitted by a broadcastwave of digital broadcasting using an IP (Internet Protocol)transmission system, the first signaling information includinginformation on a physical parameter used in a physical layer in ahierarchy of a protocol of the IP transmission system; and atransmission unit that transmits the first signaling information to areceiver via a network in response to a request from the receiver.

The first signaling information may include pointer information foraccessing the physical parameter included in second signalinginformation transmitted in a second layer, the second layer being alower layer than a first layer in the hierarchy of the protocol of theIP transmission system, the first signaling information beingtransmitted in the first layer.

The pointer information may be information for accessing the physicalparameter in a particular service in accordance with channel selectionoperation.

The pointer information may include a country code assigned to eachcountry, a first identifier assigned to each broadcaster as a uniquevalue, a second identifier assigned to each stream as a unique value,and a third identifier assigned to each service as a unique value.

The first signaling information may be an SDP (Session DescriptionProtocol), and the second signaling information may be an SCD (ServiceConfiguration Description).

The first signaling information may include the physical parameter.

The physical parameter may include a center frequency, an identifier foridentifying a PLP (Physical Layer Pipe), and a value of a preambleincluded in a frame defined in the IP transmission system.

The physical parameter may include a center frequency, a value of L1-presignaling constituting a preamble included in a frame defined in the IPtransmission system, and a value of a target PLP (Physical Layer Pipe)of L1-post signaling constituting the preamble.

The first signaling information may be an SDP (Session DescriptionProtocol).

The transmission apparatus may be an independent apparatus or may be aninternal block configuring a single apparatus.

A transmission method according to the second aspect of the presenttechnology is a transmission method corresponding to the transmissionapparatus according to the second aspect of the present technology.

In the transmission apparatus and the transmission method according tothe second aspect of the present technology, first signaling informationfor acquiring broadcast content transmitted by a broadcast wave ofdigital broadcasting using an IP (Internet Protocol) transmission systemis generated, the first signaling information including information on aphysical parameter used in a physical layer in a hierarchy of a protocolof the IP transmission system; and the first signaling information istransmitted to a receiver via a network in response to a request fromthe receiver.

Effects of the Invention

In accordance with the first aspect and the second aspect of the presenttechnology, it is possible to acquire channel selection information moreefficiently.

It should be noted that the effect described here is not necessarilylimitative and may be any effect described in the present disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[FIG. 1 ] A diagram showing a protocol stack of digital broadcasting inan IP transmission system.

[FIG. 2 ] A diagram showing a configuration of a broadcast wave of thedigital broadcasting in the IP transmission system.

[FIG. 3 ] A diagram explaining channel selection processing performed bya fixed receiver.

[FIG. 4 ] A diagram showing flow of data during a channel selectionoperation performed by the fixed receiver.

[FIG. 5 ] A diagram showing a data structure of an SCD.

[FIG. 6 ] A diagram showing a data structure of an SDP.

[FIG. 7 ] A diagram showing an attribute type of the SDP.

[FIG. 8 ] A diagram showing a description example of the SDP shown inFIG. 3 .

[FIG. 9 ] A diagram showing another description example of the SDP shownin FIG. 3 .

[FIG. 10 ] A diagram explaining the channel selection processingperformed by a portable receiver according to a first embodiment.

[FIG. 11 ] A diagram showing flow of data during the channel selectionoperation performed by the portable receiver according to the firstembodiment.

[FIG. 12 ] A diagram showing a description example of the SDP shown inFIG. 10 .

[FIG. 13 ] A diagram showing a description example of pointerinformation of the SDP.

[FIG. 14 ] A diagram explaining the channel selection processingperformed by a portable receiver according to a second embodiment.

[FIG. 15 ] A diagram showing flow of data during the channelselection⋅operation performed by the portable receiver according to thesecond embodiment.

[FIG. 16 ] A diagram showing a description example of the SDP shown inFIG. 14 .

[FIG. 17 ] A diagram showing a description example of the channelselection information of the SDP shown in FIG. 16 .

[FIG. 18 ] A diagram showing a description example of the channelselection information of the SDP shown in FIG. 16 .

[FIG. 19 ] A diagram showing a description example of the SDP shown inFIG. 14 .

[FIG. 20 ] A diagram showing a description example of the channelselection information of the SDP shown in FIG. 19 .

[FIG. 21 ] A diagram showing a description example of the channelselection information of the SDP shown in FIG. 19 .

[FIG. 22 ] A diagram showing a configuration example of a broadcastcommunication system.

[FIG. 23 ] A diagram showing a configuration example of a transmissionapparatus.

[FIG. 24 ] A diagram showing a configuration example of a receptionapparatus.

[FIG. 25 ] A diagram showing a detailed configuration example of achannel selection unit.

[FIG. 26 ] A diagram showing a detailed configuration example of acontrol unit.

[FIG. 27 ] A diagram showing a configuration example of a signalingserver.

[FIG. 28 ] A flowchart explaining digital broadcasting signaltransmission processing.

[FIG. 29 ] A flowchart explaining digital broadcasting signal receptionprocessing.

[FIG. 30 ] A flowchart explaining first channel selection informationacquisition processing.

[FIG. 31 ] A flowchart explaining second channel selection informationacquisition processing.

[FIG. 32 ] A flowchart explaining signaling providing processing.

[FIG. 33 ] A diagram showing a configuration example of a computer.

MODE(S) FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present technology will be describedwith reference to the drawings. Note that descriptions will be made inthe following order.

1. Outline of Digital Broadcasting in IP Transmission System

-   2. Channel Selection Processing in Fixed Receiver-   3. Channel Selection Processing in Portable Receiver-   (1) First Embodiment: Method of Acquiring Channel Selection    Information from SCD in accordance with Pointer Information of SDP-   (2) Second Embodiment: Method of Acquiring Channel Selection    Information from SDP-   4. System Configuration-   5. Flows of Processing Executed by Apparatuses-   6. Modified Example-   7. Configuration of Computer

1. OUTLINE OF DIGITAL BROADCASTING IN IP TRANSMISSION SYSTEM

(Protocol Stack)

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a protocol stack of digital broadcasting inan IP transmission system.

As shown in FIG. 1 , a lowest layer is a physical layer. The frequencyband of broadcast waves assigned for a service (channel) corresponds tothis. An upper layer that is adjacent to the physical layer is an IPlayer sandwiching a BBP stream (Base Band Packet Stream) therebetween.The BBP stream is a stream including packets storing various types ofdata of the IP transmission system.

The IP layer corresponds to an IP (Internet Protocol) in the TCP/IPprotocol stack. IP packets are identified by IP addresses. An upperlayer adjacent to the IP layer is a UDP layer. In a further upper layer,RTP and FLUTE/ALS are shown. Thus, in the digital broadcasting in the IPtransmission system, packets in which a port number of a UDP (UserDatagram Protocol) is specified are transmitted and an RTP (Real timeTransport Protocol) session or a FLUTE (File Delivery overUnidirectional Transport) session is established, for example. Note thatherein, “FLUTE+ (plus)” being the extension of FLUTE is used in somecases. Further, FLUTE+ is in some cases called “FLUTE enhancement.”

In an upper layer adjacent to the FLUTE/ALS, fMP4 (Fragmented MP4) isshown. In addition, in an upper layer adjacent to the RTP and the fMP4,video data (Video), audio data (Audio), and closed caption data (ClosedCaption) are shown, for example. Thus, the RTP session is used when thevideo data and the audio data are transmitted as streams, and the FLUTEsession is used when the video data and the audio data are transmittedas files.

Further, in an upper layer of the FLUTE/ALS, NRT content, ESG, and SCSare shown. The NRT content, ESG, and SCS are transmitted through theFLUTE session. The NRT content is content transmitted by NRT (Non-RealTime) broadcasting, stored in storage of a receiver, and thenreproduced. Note that the NRT content is an example of the content andother content files may be transmitted through the FLUTE session. TheESG (Electronic Service Guide) is an electronic service guide.

The SCS (Service Channel Signaling) is signaling information in units ofservices and transmitted through the FLUTE session. For example, USD(User Service Description), MPD (Media Presentation Description), SDP(Session Description Protocol), and FDD (File Delivery Description) aretransmitted as the SCS.

LLS (Low Layer Signaling) is low-layer signaling information andtransmitted in the BBP stream. For example, service configurationinformation items such as SCD (Service Configuration Description) aretransmitted as the LLS.

(Configuration of Broadcast Wave in IP Transmission System)

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration of a broadcast wave of thedigital broadcasting in the IP transmission system.

As shown in FIG. 2 , a plurality of BBP streams are transmitted in abroadcast wave (RF Channel) having a predetermined frequency band.Further, each of the BBP streams includes an NTP (Network TimeProtocol), a plurality of service channels, an electronic service guide(ESG Service), and an LLS. Note that the NTP, the service channels, andthe electronic service guide are transmitted according to a UDP/IPprotocol while the LLS is transmitted in the BBP stream. Further, theNTP is time information and can be common to the plurality of servicechannels.

The service channels (hereinafter, referred to as “services”) includecomponents such as video, audio, and closed captions, which areinformation items configuring a program, and an SCS such as USD and SDP.A common IP address is added to the services. Using this IP address, thecomponents, the SCS, and the like can be packaged for one or moreservices.

An RF channel ID (hereinafter, referred to also as “RFChannelId”) isassigned to a broadcast wave (RF Channel) having a predeterminedfrequency band for each broadcaster, for example. Further, a BBP streamID (hereinafter, referred to also as “BBPStreamId”) is assigned to oneor more BBP streams transmitted by each broadcast wave. In addition, aservice ID (hereinafter, referred to also as “serviceId”) is assigned toone or more services transmitted by each of the BBP streams.

Such a configuration corresponding to a combination of network ID,transport stream ID, and service ID used in the MPEG2-TS (Moving PictureExpert Group 2-Transport Stream) system (hereinafter, referred to as“triplet”) is employed as the ID system of the IP transmission system.This triplet indicates a BBP stream configuration and a serviceconfiguration in a broadcasting network.

The use of this ID system can achieve compatibility with the currentlywidely spread MPEG2-TS system, and hence it is possible to easilyperform simulcast during transition from the MPEG2-TS system to the IPtransmission system, for example. It should be noted that the RF channelID and the BBP stream ID in the ID system of the IP transmission systemcorrespond to the network ID and the transport stream ID in the MPEG2-TSsystem, respectively. On the other hand, the BBP stream corresponds toPLP (Physical Layer Pipe) defined by the IP transmission system.

2. CHANNEL SELECTION PROCESSING PERFORMED BY FIXED RECEIVER

(Channel Selection Processing)

FIG. 3 is a diagram explaining channel selection processing performed bya fixed receiver.

In FIG. 3 , the signaling information items in the area of an ellipse inthe figure represent “broadcasting acquisition,” i.e., the acquisitionsource thereof is broadcasting. A fixed receiver such as a televisionreceiver placed in a house or the like acquires channel selectioninformation such as the SCD through initial scanning processingperformed at the time of installation or the like, and stores it in anNVRAM (Non Volatile RAM). Then, in the case where a channel selectionoperation is performed by a user, the fixed receiver reads the channelselection information (physical parameter) from the NVRAM to perform thechannel selection processing (Tuner/Demod). Note that in this channelselection processing, demodulation processing using the physicalparameter or the like is also performed.

The SCD (Service Configuration Description) employs the triplet used inthe MPEG2-TS system. This triplet indicates the BBP stream configurationand the service configuration in the broadcasting network. The SCDfurther includes information on an IP address and the like serving asattribute/setting information in units of services, bootstrapinformation for acquiring the SCS and ESG, and the like.

Further, the physical parameter (PHY parameters) is a parameter used inthe physical layer in the hierarchy of the protocol stack shown in FIG.1 , and includes channel selection information such as a frequency. Notethat because the SCD includes the channel selection information servingas the physical parameter, the fixed receiver is capable of acquiringthe channel selection information from the SCD even if initial scanningprocessing is not performed.

Further, because the SCD includes SCS bootstrap information, the fixedreceiver is capable of acquiring the SCS transmitted through the FLUTEsession in accordance with the SCS bootstrap information. In FIG. 3 ,the USD, MPD, SDP, and FDD are acquired by broadcasting as the SCD.

The USD (User Service Description) includes link information forreferring to the MPD, SDP, and FDD. Note that the USD is in some casescalled USBD (User Service Bundle Description). The MPD (MediaPresentation Description) includes information on URLs (Uniform ResourceLocators) and the like for streams (components) transmitted in units ofservices. Note that the MPD complies with the MPEG-DASH (Moving PictureExpert Group-Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP) standard.

The SDP (Session Description Protocol) includes a service attribute inunits of services, component configuration information, a componentattribute, component filter information, component location information,and the like. The FDD (File Delivery Description) includes, as indexinformation for each TSI (Transport Session Identifier), locationinformation (e.g., URL) and information on TOI (Transport ObjectIdentifier) and the like. Note that the FDD may be included as anelement in the USD.

In the FLUTE session, files to be transmitted or the like are managed bythe TOI as one object. Further, the aggregate of a plurality of objectsis managed by TSI as one session. That is, in the FLUTE session, it ispossible to specify a particular file by two identification informationitems of the TSI and the TOI.

In FIG. 3 , in the case where components such as video and audio aretransmitted as streams in units of segments in the FLUTE session, thefixed receiver performs filtering processing (IP/UDP filter) using an IPaddress acquired from the SCD and a port number acquired from the SDP,and filtering processing (LCT filter) using the TSI and the TOI acquiredfrom the FDD.

With this, in the fixed receiver, the segment transmitted in the FLUTEsession is determined, and components such as video and audiotransmitted as streams are acquired. Then, by performing a series ofreception processing such as channel selection⋅processing and filteringprocessing, the fixed receiver outputs a picture and sound in thebroadcast content of a service in accordance with the channel selectionoperation performed by the user.

(Flow of Data During Channel Selection Operation)

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing flow of data acquisition during a channelselection operation performed by the fixed receiver.

In FIG. 4 , a transmitter of a broadcasting station (broadcaster)transmits, through a broadcast wave of the digital broadcasting usingthe IP transmission system, broadcast content or signaling informationfor each service. Note that the broadcast content includes componentssuch as video and audio.

Further, the above-mentioned ID system is employed in this digitalbroadcasting. Further, files of the components or SCS transmitted asstreams in units of segments are transmitted through the FLUTE session.Further, the file of the LLS is transmitted in the BBP stream.

In FIG. 4 , the area surrounded by dotted lines in the figure representsthe flow of processing performed by the fixed receiver placed in eachhouse or the like. In the fixed receiver, it is possible to performchannel selection operation of a service with a remote controller, andthe content of the processing is shown in the right-hand dotted lines(in the dotted lines of “Remote controller”) in the figure. On the otherhand, in the left-hand dotted lines (in the dotted lines of “Signalprocessing”) in the figure, signal processing related to the signalinginformation or component, which is performed by the fixed receiver, isshown.

The fixed receiver performs filtering processing of packets of the LLSas initial scanning processing, acquires the LLS, and analyze it tothereby store the channel selection information such as the SCD in theNVRAM. After that, in the case where the channel selection operation ofa service (program) is performed by the user, the fixed receiver readsthe channel selection information from the NVRAM and performs channelselection⋅processing. Note that, as described above, because the SCDincludes the channel selection information serving as the physicalparameter, the fixed receiver is capable of acquiring the channelselection information from the SCD even if initial scanning processingis not performed.

Further, the fixed receiver acquires the SCS transmitted in the FLUTEsession in accordance with SCS bootstrap information of the SCD. As theSCS, files of the USD, MPD, SDP, and FDD are acquired herein. The fixedreceiver acquires video and audio components transmitted in the FLUTEsession as streams in units of segments, on the basis of the analysisresults of the USD, MPD, SDP, and FDD.

Specifically, link information is described in the USD and this linkinformation is used for acquiring the MPD, SDP, and FDD. Those signalinginformation items are all included in the SCS, and hence all of them canalso be acquired from it.

In AdaptationSet elements of the MPD, Representation elements areprovided and components transmitted as streams by broadcasting orcommunication are enumerated. In the Representation elements, segmentURLs indicating acquisition sources of the components are enumeratedother than representation IDs. In the example of the MPD of FIG. 4 ,video and audio components are enumerated in the Representation elementswithin the AdaptationSet elements. Further, in the deliveryMethodelement of the USD, information for identifying a delivery mode for thecomponents is specified.

For example, in the case where the component is transmitted only bybroadcasting as shown in FIG. 4 , a broadcastAppService element isprovided in the deliveryMethod element and the URL of the componenttransmitted by broadcasting is specified in a basepattern element. Bymatching the segment URLs described in the MPD with the URL described inthe deliveryMethod element, it is determined that the video and audiocomponents enumerated in the MPD are being transmitted by broadcasting.Note that in the case where the components are transmitted also bycommunication, a unicastAppService element is provided in thedeliveryMethod element of the USD in addition to the broadcastAppServiceelement.

Further, tsi attribute, contentLocation attribute, and toi attribute aredescribed in the FDD. In the tsi attribute, a TSI (Transport SessionIdentifier) that is identification information of each FLUTE session isspecified. Further, in the toi attribute, a TOI (Transport ObjectIdentifier) that is identification information of a plurality of objectstransmitted in each FLUTE session is specified. In the contentLocationattribute, the URL of the file is specified. By matching the segmentURLs described in the MPD with the URLs described in the FDD, the TSIand TOI for acquiring the components enumerated in the MPD aredetermined. In addition, by referring to the SDP, IP addresses and portnumbers for acquiring those video and audio components are determined.

In this manner, the IP address, port number, TSI, and TOI for acquiringthe video component and the IP address, port number, TSI, and TOI foracquiring the audio component are acquired in the fixed receiver.

Performing filtering processing using the IP addresses, port numbers,TSIs, and TOIs for the video and audio components, the fixed receiver isconnected to the video and audio streams being transmitted through theFLUTE session. Then, the fixed receiver acquires segment data (mediasegment) and temporarily stores it in a buffer for buffering, andperforms rendering. With this, at the fixed receiver, a picture andsound in the broadcast content of a service in accordance with thechannel selection operation performed by the user are output.

(Data Structure of SCD)

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a data structure of an SCD (ServiceConfiguration Description).

The SCD is described with a markup language, for example, an XML(Extensible Markup Language). Note that, in FIG. 5 , “@” is added to theattribute out of the element and the attribute. Further, the indentedelements and attributes are those specified with respect to upper-levelelements thereof.

As shown in FIG. 5 , the Scd element is an upper-level element ofmajorProtocolversion attribute, minorProtocolversion attribute,RFchannelId attribute, name attribute, Tuning RF element, and BBPStreamelement.

In the majorProtocolversion attribute and the minorProtocolversionattribute, protocol version information is specified. In the RFchannelIdattribute, an RF channel ID of a broadcasting station in units ofphysical channels is specified. In the name attribute, the name of thebroadcasting station in units of physical channels is specified.

In the Tuning_RF element, the channel selection information serving asthe physical parameter is specified. The Tuning_RF element is anupper-level element of frequency attribute and PreambleL1Pre attribute.In the frequency attribute, a center frequency in selecting apredetermined bandwidth is specified. In the PreambleL1Pre attribute, acontrol parameter of a physical layer is specified.

In the BBPStream element, information relating to one or more BBPstreams is specified. The BBPStream element is an upper-level element ofbbpStreamId attribute, payloadType attribute, name attribute,ESGBootstrap element, ClockReferenceInformation element, Tuning_BBPSelement, and Service element.

In the bbpStreamId attribute, a BBP stream ID is specified. If aplurality of BBP streams are provided, they are identified bybbpStreamId attributes. In the payloadType attribute, a payload type ofthe BBP stream is specified. In the name attribute, the name of the BBPstream is specified.

In the ESGBootstrap element, information on access to the ESG isspecified. The ESGBootstrap element is an upper-level element of anESGProvider element. In the ESGProvider element, information relating tothe ESG is specified for each ESG provider. The ESGProvider element isan upper-level element of providerName attribute, ESGBroadcastLocationelement, and ESGBroadbandLocation element.

In the providerName attribute, the name of the ESG provider isspecified. If an ESG is transmitted by broadcasting, theESGBroadcastLocation element specifies an ESG service, using RFchannelIdattribute, BBPStreamId attribute, and ESGServiceId attribute (triplet).In the RFchannelId attribute, an RF channel ID of a broadcasting stationthat transmits the ESG service is specified. In the BBPStreamIdattribute, a BBP stream ID of a BBP stream that transmits the ESGservice is specified. In the ESGServiceId attribute, a service ID of theESG service is specified.

If an ESG is transmitted by communication, the ESGBroadbandLocationelement specifies a URL for accessing a file of that ESG, using anESGurl attribute.

In the ClockReferenceInformation element, information relating to timeinformation (e.g., NTP) is specified. The ClockReferenceInformationelement is an upper-level element of sourceIPAddress attribute,destinationIPAddress attribute, portNum attribute, andclockReferenceFormat attribute.

In the sourceIPAddress attribute and the destinationIPAddress attribute,IP addresses of source and destination for transmitting the timeinformation are specified. In the portNum attribute, a port number fortransmitting the time information is specified. In theclockReferenceFormat attribute, type information of the time informationis specified.

In the Tuning_BBPS element, the channel selection information for eachBBP stream is specified as the physical parameter. The Tuning_BBPSelement is an upper-level element of plpId attribute and PreambleL1postelement. In the plpId attribute, a PLP ID (PLP (Physical Layer Pipe)identifier) for identifying the BBP stream is specified. Note that thePLP ID corresponds to the BBP stream ID. In the PreambleL1post element,a control parameter of the physical layer is specified.

In the Service element, information relating to one or more services isspecified. The Service element is an upper-level element of serviceIdattribute, serviceType attribute, hidden attribute, hiddenGuideattribute, shortName attribute, longName attribute, accesControlattribute, SourceOrigin element, SCS bootstrap element, and AssociatedService element.

In the serviceId attribute, the service ID is specified. If a pluralityof services are provided, they are identified by serviceId attributes.In the serviceType attribute, type information of the service isspecified.

In the hidden attribute and the hiddenGuide attribute, whether or notthe service identified by the service ID is a hidden service isspecified. In the shortName attribute and the longName attribute, thename of a service identified by the service ID is specified. In theaccesControl attribute, whether or not the service identified by theservice ID has been encrypted is specified.

In the SourceOrigin element, information for identifying the service isspecified. The SourceOrigin element is an upper-level element of countryattribute, original RFchannelId attribute, bbpStreamId attribute, andserviceId attribute. In the country attribute, a country code isspecified. In the originalRFchannelId attribute, an original RF channelID is specified. The original RF channel ID is an ID for identifying thebroadcasting network and the same value is used therefor also when thatservice is re-transmitted. In the bbpStreamId attribute, the BBP streamID is specified. In the serviceId attribute, the service ID isspecified.

In an SCS Bootstrap element, information on access to the service isspecified. The SCS Bootstrap element is an upper-level element ofsourceIPAddress attribute, destinationIPAddress attribute, portNumattribute, and tsi attribute. In the sourceIPAddress attribute and thedestinationIPAddress attribute, IP addresses of source and destinationfor transmitting the service are specified. In the portNum attribute,the port number for transmitting the SCS is specified. In the tsiattribute, the TSI in the FLUTE session that transmits the SCS isspecified.

In the Associated Service element, information relating to an associatedslave service is specified. The Associated Service element is anupper-level element of RFchannelId attribute, bbpStreamId attribute, andserviceId attribute. In the RFchannelId attribute, an RF channel ID ofthe associated slave service is specified. In the bbpStreamId attribute,a BBP stream ID of the associated slave service is specified. In theserviceId attribute, a service ID of the associated slave service isspecified.

In FIG. 5 , regarding cardinality, when “1” is specified, only oneelement or attribute is necessarily specified. When “0 . . . 1” isspecified, it is optional whether to specify an element or attribute.When “1 . . . n” is specified, one or more elements or attributes arespecified. When “0 . . . n” is specified, it is optional whether tospecify one or more elements or attributes.

(Data Structure of SDP)

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a data structure of an SDP (SessionDescription Protocol). The SDP is described in a text format, forexample.

As shown in FIG. 6 , the SDP includes two sections of SessionDescription and Media Description. In the Session Description,information relating to the session is described. On the other hand, inthe Media Description, it is possible to describe a plurality of mediainformation items such as audio data and video data transmitted in theRTP session or FLUTE session.

In the Session Description, it is possible to describe protocol version(v), origin (o), session name (s), session information (i), URI (u),email address (e), phone number (p), connection data (c), (session)bandwidth (b), timing (t), repeat times (r), time zone (z), encryptionkeys (k), and (session) attributes (a).

In the protocol version (v), a version of the protocol is specified. Asthis value, “0” or a value determined in the operation of the service isspecified. In RF2327, “0” is necessarily used.

In the origin (o), information on the creator of the SDP descriptiondocument is specified. For example, as the origin (o), information suchas a user name (username), session ID (sess-id), session version(sess-version), network type (nettype), address type (addrtype), andunicast address (unicast-address) is specified.

In the session name (s), a name of a session is specified. In thesession information (i), information relating to the session isspecified. In the URI (u), a URI (Uniform Resource Identifier) that iscapable of acquiring added information relating to the session isspecified.

In the email address (e), a contact e-mail address of a chiefadministrator of the session is specified. In the phone number (p), acontact telephone number of the chief administrator of the session isspecified. In the connection data (c), information on the networkaddress used in the session is specified. In the (session) bandwidth(b), a bandwidth of the medium used in the session is specified.

In the timing (t), valid start time and finish time of the session arespecified. In the repeat times (r), a repeating period or the like inthe case where the session becomes valid periodically and repeatedly isspecified. Note that the timing (t) and the repeat times (r) configuresTime Description.

In the time zones (z), an offset in the case where switching of summertime and winter time or the like is necessary is specified, in the casewhere repeat is specified in the repeat times (r) being a timedescriptor. In the encryption keys (k), an encryption key used in thesession or information thereon is specified. In the (session) attributes(a), various pieces of information relating to the session arespecified.

In the Media Description, it is possible to describe media announcements(m), media information (i), connection data (c), (media) bandwidth (b),encryption keys (k), and (media) attributes.

In the media announcements (m), information such as media type (media),port number (port), protocol (proto), and format (fmt) is specified. Inthe media information (i), information relating to the media isspecified. In the connection data (c), information on a network addressused in the media is specified.

In the (media) bandwidth (b), a bandwidth used in the media stream isspecified. In the encryption keys (k), an encryption key used in themedia or information thereon is specified. In the (media) attributes,various attributes relating to the media are specified.

(Attribute Type of SDP)

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an attribute type (Attributes) of the SDP.

The attribute type specified by “a=” represents an attribute relating tothe entire session in the case where it is included in the SessionDescription, and an attribute relating to the media in the case where itis included in the Media Description. Note that in the case where thefunction of the SDP is extended, it is possible to enhance the sessiondescription capabilities of the SDP by extending the attribute part of“a=.”

For example, as the attribute type, ptime, fmtp, sendrecv, recvonly,sendonly, inactive, rtpmap, and representation-id are defined.

The ptime represents the length of the medium included in one packet,and the data amount in the packet is specified as the value. The fmtprepresents a format used in the medium and a particular parameternecessary for the format, and a format and a parameter are specified asthe value.

The sendrecv represents that the medium is transmitted/receivedbidirectionally. The recvonly represents that the medium is receivedonly. The sendonly represents that the medium is transmitted only. Theinactive represents that the medium is not transmitted bidirectionally.For example, it is used in the case where the transmission/reception ofthe medium is suspended in the process of session or in the case where aport number, codec, or the like is ensured before the start of thesession.

The rtpmap represents mapping of a payload and a coding type, and apayload and a coding type are specified as the value. Therepresentation-id represents a representation ID, and a representationID is specified as the value. With the representation ID, the SDP iscapable of associating a component with another component in the othersignaling information items of the SCS (e.g., USD, MPD, and FDD).

(Description Example of SDP)

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a description example of the SDP shown inFIG. 3 .

In this description example, in the Session Description, “v” thatrepresents a version of a protocol, “o” that represents instance creatorinformation, “c” that represents connection data, and “t” thatrepresents valid time of the session are described.

Specifically, in this description example, “0” is specified as theversion of the protocol. Further, as the instance creator information, auser name being “ricky,” SDP instance ID being “28908764872,” type oftransmission (host) being “IN” (Internet), type of an IP address being“IP4” (IPv4), and IP address (URL) being “host.example.com” arespecified.

Further, as the information on the network address used in a particularsession, a type of a network being “IN” (Internet), type of an IPaddress being “IP4” (IPv4), and an IP address being “192.0.2.4” arespecified. Furthermore, as the valid time of the session, “0 0” isspecified.

Further, in this description example, media information relating toaudio is described in a Media Description 1 and media informationrelating to video is described in a Media Description 2 in the casewhere audio and video components are transmitted as streams transmittedin a particular session.

As the value of the media information, a media type, port number fortransmitting a medium, protocol for transmitting a medium, format, andthe like are specified. For example, as the media type, video or audiois specified. Further, as the protocol for transmitting a media,“RTP/AVP,” “FLUTE/UDP,” or the like is specified. Further, as theformat, added information is described for each protocol if it isnecessary. Further, the line beginning with “a=” represents theattribute of the corresponding medium.

Specifically, in this description example, the line of “m=audio” in theMedia Description 1 describes that the port number of audio datatransmitted in the RTP session is “49170.” Further, by the three linesof “a=rtpmap” subsequent thereto, the payload type and the coding typeare mapped. That is, the audio data is coded by any one of PCMU, GSM(registered trademark), and G729. Further, in the audio data, the timescale of the RTP time stamp is 8000.

Further, the line of “m=video” in the Media Description 2 representsthat the port number of video data transmitted in the RTP session is51372. By the two lines of “a=rtpmap” subsequent thereto, the payloadtype and the coding type are mapped. That is, the video data is coded byH.261 or H.263. Further, in the video data, the time scale of the RTPtime stamp is 90000.

(Another Description Example of SDP)

In the description example shown in FIG. 8 , a case where video andaudio components are transmitted in the RTP session has been shown.However, these components may be transmitted by the FLUTE session. Inthis case, as a protocol for transmitting a medium, “FLUTE/UDP” isspecified instead of “RTP/AVP.”

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing another description example of the SDP shownin FIG. 3 .

In FIG. 9 , the line of “m=application” in the Media Descriptionrepresents that the port number of the FLUTE session for transmittingthe video and audio components is “67890.”

Further, “a=flute-tsi:3” represents that the TSI of the FLUTE session is“3.” Further, “a=representation-id” represents that the representationID of the video and audio components transmitted in the FLUTE session isspecified. In this description example of the SDP, as the representationID, “23” is specified in the video component and “45” is specified inthe audio component.

As described above, in the fixed receiver placed in each house or thelike, the channel selection information is acquired and stored at thetime of initial scanning processing or the like, and channel selectionprocessing using the channel selection information is performed in thecase where a channel selection operation is performed by a user. On theother hand, because the portable receiver such as a smartphone and atablet terminal is used in unspecified places, it is not realistic toacquire channel selection information through initial scanning in eachcase as in the fixed receiver used in a particular place.

In view of the above, the portable receiver to which the presenttechnology is applied acquires a service list and signaling informationdepending on location information acquired by using a GPS (GlobalPositioning System) function from a dedicated server provided in theInternet to perform channel selection⋅processing. Hereinafter, thechannel selection processing performed by the portable receiver to whichthe present technology is applied will be described.

3. CHANNEL SELECTION PROCESSING PERFORMED BY PORTABLE RECEIVER (1) FirstEmbodiment

(Channel Selection⋅Processing)

FIG. 10 is a diagram explaining the channel selection processingperformed by a portable receiver according to a first embodiment.

In FIG. 10 , the signaling information items in the area of an ellipsein the figure represent “communication acquisition,” i.e., theacquisition source thereof is communication. On the other hand, thesignaling information items outside the area of the ellipse in thefigure represents “broadcasting acquisition”. Therefore, the SCD may beacquired not only by communication as well as other signalinginformation items but also by broadcasting in the case where theportable receiver has already performed initial scanning processing orchannel selection⋅processing, for example.

In FIG. 10 , in the portable receiver, an application capable ofselecting a service (program) is being executed. For example, theportable receiver acquires location information with a GPS function andtransmits it to a dedicated server. Thus, the application is capable ofpresenting a list of services (programs) that can be used depending onthe current position. Note that the application includes an HTML(HyperText Markup Language) file, for example. Further, the applicationis capable of cooperating with ESG (Electronic Service Guide) by an API(Application Programming Interface).

In the case where a desired service is selected by a user who operatesthe application, the portable receiver performs a function for channelselection that is provided as the API, and accesses the signaling servervia the Internet in accordance with the URL (Uniform Resource Locator)specified as the argument thereof to acquire signaling information.

In FIG. 10 , as the signaling information items, the SCS such as USD,MPD, SDP, and FDD is acquired by communication. Note that files of theUSD, MPD, SDP, and FDD acquired by communication can be treated as onefile in a ZIP file format. Further, the file of the SCD may be acquiredby communication with the SCS by including it in a ZIP file, and hasalready been stored in the NVRAM in the case where it is acquired bybroadcasting in initial scanning processing or the like.

In the SDP, pointer information for accessing the channel selectioninformation (physical parameter) included in the SCD is described. Theportable receiver is capable of acquiring the channel selectioninformation (physical parameter) by accessing the SCD in accordance withthe pointer information of the SDP. Accordingly, in the portablereceiver, the channel selection information (e.g., frequency) serving asthe physical parameter (PHY parameters) is used to perform channelselection processing (Tuner/Demod).

In FIG. 10 , in the case where components such as video and audio aretransmitted as streams in units of segments in the FLUTE session, theportable receiver performs filtering processing (IP/UDP filter) using anIP address and port number acquired from the SDP, and filteringprocessing (LCT filter) using the TSI and TOI acquired from the FDD.

Accordingly, in the portable receiver, the segment transmitted in theFLUTE session is determined, and components transmitted as streams suchas video and audio are acquired. Then, by performing a series ofreception processing such as channel selection⋅processing and filteringprocessing, the fixed receiver outputs a picture and sound in thebroadcast content of a service in accordance with the channel selectionoperation performed by the user.

As described above, in the channel selection processing performed by theportable receiver according to the first embodiment, the channelselection information (physical parameter) is acquired by accessing theSCD being acquired by communication or broadcasting in accordance withthe pointer information of the SDP acquired by communication, andchannel selection processing using the channel selection information(e.g., frequency) is performed.

(Flow of Data During Channel Selection Operation)

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing flow of data during the channel selectionoperation performed by the portable receiver according to the firstembodiment.

In FIG. 11 , the transmitter of a broadcasting station transmitsbroadcast content or signaling information for each service by abroadcast wave of digital broadcasting using the IP transmission system.Note that the broadcast content includes components such as video andaudio. The signaling server delivers signaling information via theInternet.

In the digital broadcasting, the above-mentioned ID system is employed.Further, files of components or the SCS transmitted as streams in unitsof segments are transmitted in the FLUTE session. On the other hand, thefile of the LLS is transmitted in the BBP stream.

In FIG. 11 , the area surrounded by dotted lines in the figurerepresents the flow of processing performed by the portable receiver(Handheld Receiver). In the portable receiver, an application that iscapable of selecting an available service (program) is being executed,and the content of the processing is shown in the right-hand dottedlines (in the dotted lines of “Application”) in the figure. On the otherhand, in the left-hand dotted lines (in the dotted lines of “Signalprocessing”) in the figure, signal processing relating to signalinginformation or a component performed by the portable receiver is shown.For example, the portable receiver acquires the SCD transmitted in theBBP stream and stores it in the NVRAM in the case where initial scanningprocessing has been performed.

The portable receiver accesses the signaling server via the Internet toacquire the SCS in accordance with the URL in the case where a desiredservice is selected by the user who operates the application. Herein,files of the USD, MPD, SDP, and FDD are acquired from a ZIP file. Notethat in the case where the ZIP file includes the file of the SCD, it ispossible to acquire the SCD therefrom. In this case, it is not necessaryto acquire the SCD transmitted in the BBP stream. That is, in theportable receiver, the SCD has been acquired by broadcasting orcommunication at this point.

The portable receiver access the SCD, acquires the channel selectioninformation (physical parameter), and performs the channel selectionprocessing, in accordance with the pointer information of the SDP.Further, the portable receiver acquires video and audio componentstransmitted in the FLUTE session as streams in units of segments, basedon the analysis results of the USD, MPD, SDP, and FDD.

Specifically, link information is described in the USD and this linkinformation is used for acquiring the MPD, SDP, and FDD. However, in thecase where a ZIP file is used, all of them are acquired from it.

In the AdaptationSet element of the MPD, a Representation element isprovided, and components transmitted as streams by broadcasting orcommunication are enumerated. Further, in the Representation element,segment URLs that represent the acquisition source of a component areenumerated in addition to the representation ID. In FIG. 11 , in theMPD, video and audio components are enumerated in the Representationelement in the AdaptationSet element. On the other hand, in thedeliveryMethod element of the USD, information for identifying thedelivery form of components is specified.

For example, in the case where a component is transmitted only bybroadcasting as shown in FIG. 11 , a broadcastAppService element isprovided in the deliveryMethod element, and a URL of the componenttransmitted by broadcasting is specified in the basepattern element.Then, by matching the segment URL described in the MPD with the URLdescribed in the deliveryMethod element, it is determined that video andaudio components enumerated in the MPD are transmitted by broadcasting.Note that in the case where the component is transmitted also bycommunication, a unicastAppService element is provided in thedeliveryMethod element of the USD in addition to the broadcastAppServiceelement.

In the FDD, a tsi attribute, a contentLocation attribute, and a toiattribute are described. In the tsi attribute, the TSI beingidentification information of each FLUTE session is specified. Further,in the toi attribute, the TOI being identification information of aplurality of objects transmitted for each FLUTE session is specified. Inthe contentLocation attribute, a URL of the file is specified. Then, bymatching the segment URL described in the MPD with the URL described inthe FDD, the TSI and the TOI for acquiring components enumerated in theMPD are determined. Further, by referring to the SDP, an IP address anda port number for acquiring the video and audio components aredetermined.

In this manner, in the portable receiver, the IP address, port number,TSI, and TOI for acquiring the video component, and the IP address, portnumber, TSI, and TOI for acquiring the audio component are acquired.

The portable receiver performs filtering processing using the IPaddress, port number, TSI, and TOI of the video and audio components tobe connected to streams of video and audio being transmitted in theFLUTE session. Then, the portable receiver acquires segment data (mediasegment), temporarily stores it in a buffer for buffering, and performsrendering. Accordingly, the portable receiver outputs a picture andsound in the broadcast content of a service in accordance with thechannel selection operation performed by the user.

Note that in FIG. 11 , the file of the SCS is transmitted in the FLUTEsession by the transmitter. However, the portable receiver does notacquire the file of the SCS therefrom, and acquires it from thesignaling server via the Internet.

(Description Example of SDP)

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a description example of the SDP shown inFIG. 10 .

In FIG. 12 , the line of “a=atsc-serviceidentifier” is added in theSession Description as compared with the SDP shown in FIG. 9 . By thisline of “a=atsc-serviceidentifier,” the pointer information foraccessing the channel selection information (physical parameter)included in the SCD is specified. In the description example shown inFIG. 12 , “US:13:1:183” is specified as the pointer information.

As shown in FIG. 13 , values separated by colon in the pointerinformation represent a double-digit country code, RF channel ID, BBPstream ID, and service ID in the order from left. Therefore, in thedescription example shown in FIG. 12 , because the country code being“US,” the RF channel ID being “13,” the BBP stream ID being “1,” and theservice ID being “183” are specified as the pointer information, thechannel selection information (physical parameter) determined by the IDsand the code are acquired from the SCD.

Specifically, in the SCD (FIG. 5 ), a center frequency specified by thefrequency attribute of the Tuning_RF element or a control parameter in aphysical layer specified by the PreambleL1Pre attribute are determinedand acquired, for example, as the channel selection information(physical parameter) of the service in accordance with the channelselection operation performed by the user, by the triplet specified bythe pointer information of the SDP. Alternatively, a PLP ID specified bythe plpId attribute of the Tuning_BBPS element of the BBPStream elementor a control parameter in a physical layer specified by thePreambleL1post element are determined and acquired, for example.

Returning to the description of FIG. 12 , the content of the MediaDescription is the same as that of the SDP shown in FIG. 9 , andrepresents that the port number of the FLUTE session for transmittingthe video and audio components is “67890” and the TSI of the FLUTEsession is “3.” Further, the representation ID of the video and audio isspecified.

In the above, in the first embodiment, by describing the pointerinformation for accessing the channel selection information (physicalparameter) included in the SCD in the SDP, the channel selectioninformation (physical parameter) is acquired from the SCD to performchannel selection processing in accordance with the pointer information,in the case where the channel selection operation is performed by theuser. Accordingly, also in the portable receiver used in an arbitraryplace, it is possible to acquire the channel selection informationefficiently. Therefore, it is possible to easily select a desiredservice from services being broadcasted in that place, and to view andlisten to it.

(2) Second Embodiment

(Channel Selection⋅Processing)

FIG. 14 is a diagram explaining the channel selection processingperformed by a portable receiver according to a second embodiment.

In FIG. 14 , the signaling information items in the area of an ellipsein the figure represent “communication acquisition,” i.e., theacquisition source thereof is communication, as in the case of FIG. 10 .

Further, in FIG. 14 , in the portable receiver, an application that iscapable of selecting a service (program) is being executed. Herein, forexample, the portable receiver acquires location information with a GPSfunction to transmit it to a dedicated server. Thus, the application iscapable of presenting a list of services (programs) that can be useddepending on the current position. Note that the application includes anHTML file, for example. Further, the application is capable ofcooperating with ESG by an API.

In the case where a desired service is selected by a user who operatesthe application, the portable receiver performs a function for channelselection that is provided as the API, and accesses the signaling servervia the Internet in accordance with the URL specified as the argumentthereof to acquire signaling information.

In FIG. 14 , as the signaling information items, the SCS such as USD,MPD, SDP, and FDD is acquired by communication. Note that files of theUSD, MPD, SDP, and FDD acquired by communication can be treated as onefile in a ZIP file format.

In the SDP, the channel selection information (physical parameter) isdirectly described. That is, the channel selection information isacquired not from the SCD but from the SDP in this case. Therefore, itis not necessary to acquire the LLS (SCD), and the channel selectioninformation is acquired with only the SCS. In the portable receiver, thechannel selection information (e.g., frequency) serving as the physicalparameter (PHY parameters) is used to perform channelselection⋅processing (Tuner/Demod).

In FIG. 14 , in the case where components such as video and audio aretransmitted as streams in units of segments, in the FLUTE session, theportable receiver performs filtering processing (IP/UDP filter) using anIP address and a port number acquired from the SDP and filteringprocessing (LCT filter) using the TSI and the TOI acquired from the FDD.

Accordingly, in the portable receiver, the segment transmitted in theFLUTE session is determined, and components transmitted as streams suchas video and audio are acquired. Then, by performing a series ofreception processing such as channel selection⋅processing and filteringprocessing, the portable receiver outputs a picture and sound in thebroadcast content of a service in accordance with the channel selectionoperation performed by the user.

As described above, in the channel selection processing performed by theportable receiver according to the second embodiment, the channelselection information (physical parameter) is acquired from the SDPacquired by communication, and the channel selection information (e.g.,frequency) is used to perform channel selection⋅processing.Specifically, the second embodiment is different from the firstembodiment in that the channel selection⋅processing is performed withoutacquiring the SCD.

(Flow of Data During Channel Selection Operation)

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing flow of data during the channelselection⋅operation performed by the portable receiver according to thesecond embodiment.

In FIG. 15 , a transmitter of a broadcasting station transmits, througha broadcast wave of the digital broadcasting using the IP transmissionsystem, broadcast content or signaling information for each service,similarly to FIG. 11 . Note that the broadcast content includescomponents such as video and audio. The signaling server deliverssignaling information via the Internet.

In the digital broadcasting, the above-mentioned ID system is employed.Further, files of components or the SCS transmitted as streams in unitsof segments are transmitted in the FLUTE session. On the other hand, thefile of the LLS is transmitted in the BBP stream.

Further, in FIG. 15 , the area surrounded by dotted lines in the figurerepresents the flow of processing performed by the portable receiver(Handheld Receiver), similarly to FIG. 11 . Further, the content ofprocessing performed by the application is shown in dotted lines of“Application” in the area, and the content of signal processing is shownin dotted lines of “Signal processing.”

The portable receiver accesses the signaling server via the Internet toacquire the SCS in accordance with the URL in the case where a desiredservice is selected by the user who operates the application. Herein,files of the USD, MPD, SDP, and FDD are acquired from a ZIP file.

The portable receiver acquires the channel selection information(physical parameter) described in the SDP, and performs the channelselection processing. Further, the portable receiver acquires video andaudio components transmitted in the FLUTE session as streams in units ofsegments, based on the analysis results of the USD, MPD, SDP, and FDD.

Specifically, link information is described in the USD and this linkinformation is used for acquiring the MPD, SDP, and FDD. However, in thecase where a ZIP file is used, all of them are acquired from it.

In the AdaptationSet element of the MPD, a Representation element isprovided, and components transmitted as streams by broadcasting orcommunication are enumerated. Further, in the Representation element,segment URLs that represent the acquisition source of a component areenumerated in addition to the representation ID. In FIG. 15 , in theMPD, video and audio components are enumerated in the Representationelement in the AdaptationSet element. On the other hand, in thedeliveryMethod element of the USD, information for identifying thedelivery form of components is specified.

For example, in the case where a component is transmitted only bybroadcasting as shown in FIG. 15 , a broadcastAppService element isprovided in the deliveryMethod element, and a URL of the componenttransmitted by broadcasting is specified in the basepattern element.Then, by matching the segment URL described in the MPD with the URLdescribed in the deliveryMethod element, it is determined that video andaudio components enumerated in the MPD are transmitted by broadcasting.

In the FDD, a tsi attribute, a contentLocation attribute, and a toiattribute are described. In the tsi attribute, the TSI beingidentification information of each FLUTE session is specified. Further,in the toi attribute, the

TOI being identification information of a plurality of objectstransmitted for each FLUTE session is specified. In the contentLocationattribute, a URL of the file is specified. Then, by matching the segmentURL described in the MPD with the URL described in the FDD, the TSI andthe TOI for acquiring components enumerated in the MPD are determined.Further, by referring to the SDP, an IP address and a port number foracquiring the video and audio components are determined.

In this manner, in the portable receiver, the IP address, port number,TSI, and TOI for acquiring the video component, and the IP address, portnumber, TSI, and TOI for acquiring the audio component are acquired.

The portable receiver performs filtering processing using the IPaddress, port number, TSI, and TOI of the video and audio components tobe connected to streams of video and audio being transmitted in theFLUTE session. Then, the portable receiver acquires segment data (mediasegment), temporarily stores it in a buffer for buffering, and performsrendering. Accordingly, the portable receiver outputs a picture andsound in the broadcast content of a service in accordance with thechannel selection operation performed by the user.

Note that in FIG. 15 , the file of the SCS is transmitted in the FLUTEsession by the transmitter. However, the portable receiver does notacquire the file of the SCS therefrom, and acquires it from thesignaling server via the Internet. Further, the transmitter transmitsthe file of the LLS in the BBP stream, but the portable receiver doesnot use this.

(Description Example 1 of SDP)

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a description example of the SDP shown inFIG. 14 .

In FIG. 16 , the lines of “a=frequency,” “a=plpId,” and “a=preamble” areadded in the Session Description as compared with the SDP shown in FIG.9 . By the three lines, the channel selection information serving as thephysical parameter is specified.

Herein, as shown in FIG. 17 , “a=frequency” represents a centerfrequency. Further, “a=plpId” represents a PLP ID (PLP identifier) thatis capable of identifying the BBP stream, and “a=preamble” represents apreamble value serving as a control parameter including informationnecessary for processing such as decoding. Therefore, in the descriptionexample of FIG. 16 , the center frequency being “473142857 Hz,” the PLPID being “2,” and the preamble value being “XXXXX . . . XX” (X is anumerical value) is specified as the channel selection information(physical parameter).

Herein, the frame defined in the IP transmission system includes apreamble and data symbols. Further, the preamble includes the L1-presignaling and the L1-post signaling. The L1-pre signaling includesinformation for receiving and decoding the L1-post signaling. Further,the L1-post signaling includes a control parameter necessary foraccessing (layer pipes of) a physical layer.

In FIG. 16 , as the preamble value, a plurality L1-post signaling valuesare specified, and it is possible to identify the target BBP stream withthe PLP ID and to acquire a control parameter. Specifically, by usingthese three physical parameters as the channel selection information, itis possible to perform channel selection processing for selecting aservice on which channel selection operation is performed by the user.

Note that it may be possible to define “a=atsc_physical_tuning” as shownin FIG. 18 and to couple the center frequency, PLP ID, and each value ofthe preamble value together with colons to specify it, instead ofindividually specify the center frequency, PLP ID, and each value of thepreamble value.

Returning to the description of FIG. 16 , the content of the MediaDescription is the same as the SDP shown in FIG. 9 , and represents thatthe port number of the FLUTE session for transmitting video and audiocomponents is “67890,” and the TSI of the FLUTE session is “3.” Further,the representation ID of video and audio is specified.

(Description Example 2 of SDP)

FIG. 19 is a diagram showing another description example of the SDPshown in FIG. 14 .

In FIG. 19 , the lines of “a=frequency,” “a=l1-pre,” and “a=l1-post” areadded in the Session Description as compared with the SDP shown in FIG.9 . By the three lines, the channel selection information serving as thephysical parameter (PHY parameters) is specified.

Herein, as shown in FIG. 20 , “a=frequency” represents a centerfrequency. Further, “a=l1-pre” represents a L1-pre signaling valueserving as a preamble, and “a=l1-post” represents a value of a targetPLP of the L1-post signaling serving as a preamble. Therefore, in thedescription example of FIG. 19 , the center frequency being “473142857Hz,” the L1-pre signaling value being “xxxxx . . . xx” (x is a numericalvalue), and the value of the target PLP of the L1-post signaling being“yyyyyy . . . yy” (y is a numerical value) are specified as the channelselection information (physical parameter).

As described above, the preamble includes the L1-pre signaling and theL1-post signaling. However, in FIG. 19 , by specifying the value of thetarget PLP of the L1-post signaling instead of identifying the targetBBP stream by the PLP ID, the target BBP stream is identified to acquirea control parameter. That is, by using these three physical parametersas the channel selection information, it is possible to perform channelselection processing for selecting a service on which channel selectionoperation is performed by the user.

Note that it may be possible to define “a=atsc_physical_tuning” as shownin FIG. 21 and to couple the center frequency, the L1-pre signalingvalue, and the value of the target PLP of the L1-post signaling togetherwith colons to specify it, instead of individually specify the centerfrequency, the L1-pre signaling value, and the value of the target PLPof the L1-post signaling value.

Returning to the description of FIG. 19 , the content of the MediaDescription is the same as the SDP shown in FIG. 9 , and represents thatthe port number of the FLUTE session for transmitting video and audiocomponents is “67890,” and the TSI of the FLUTE session is “3.” Further,the representation ID of video and audio is specified.

As described above, in the second embodiment, by directly describing thechannel selection information (physical parameter) in the SDP, thechannel selection information (physical parameter) is acquired toperform channel selection⋅processing in the case where the channelselection operation of a service is performed by the user. Therefore, itis possible to acquire the channel selection information efficientlyalso in the portable receiver that is used in an arbitrary place.Accordingly, it is possible to easily select a desired service fromservices being broadcasted in that place, and to view and listen to it.

4. SYSTEM CONFIGURATION

(Configuration of Broadcast Communication System)

FIG. 22 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a broadcastcommunication system.

As shown in FIG. 22 , a broadcast communication system 1 is constitutedof a transmission apparatus 10, a reception apparatus 20, a dataproviding server 30, and a signaling server 40. In FIG. 22 , thereception apparatus 20 is connected to the signaling server 40 via anetwork 90 such as the Internet.

The transmission apparatus 10 transmits, as the broadcast content, AV(Audio Video) content provided from the data providing server 30 througha broadcast wave of the digital broadcasting using the IP transmissionsystem. Note that the broadcast content includes components such asvideo and audio.

Further, the transmission apparatus 10 uses original data of thesignaling information provided from the data providing server 30 togenerate the signaling information, and transmits it together with thebroadcast content through a broadcast wave of the digital broadcastingusing the IP transmission system.

Note that the transmission apparatus 10 corresponds to theabove-mentioned transmitter (e.g., FIG. 11 or FIG. 15 ), and is providedby a broadcaster, for example. Further, a plurality of transmissionapparatuses 10 may be placed depending on the operation form.

The reception apparatus 20 receives a broadcast wave of the digitalbroadcasting that is transmitted from the transmission apparatus 10, andacquires the signaling information transmitted by that broadcast wave ofthe digital broadcasting. Further, the reception apparatus 20 accessesthe signaling server 40 via the network 90, and acquires the signalinginformation provided from the signaling server 40.

On the basis of the signaling information acquired by broadcasting orcommunication, the reception apparatus 20 acquires the broadcast contenttransmitted by a broadcast wave of the digital broadcasting transmittedfrom the transmission apparatus 10. The reception apparatus 20 displays,on the basis of the components such as video and audio constituting thebroadcast content, a picture on the display and outputs soundsynchronized with that picture from the speaker.

Note that the reception apparatus 20 corresponds to the above-mentionedportable receiver (e.g., FIG. 11 or FIG. 15 ), and is held by the userand used in an arbitrary place, for example.

The data providing server 30 provides AV content including componentssuch as video data and audio data to the transmission apparatus 10.Further, the data providing server 30 provides original data of thesignaling information to the transmission apparatus 10 and the signalingserver 40. Note that the data providing server 30 may generate thesignaling information, and provide it to the transmission apparatus 10and the signaling server 40.

The signaling server 40 uses the original data of the signalinginformation provided from the data providing server 30 to generate thesignaling information. The signaling server 40 provides the signalinginformation via the network 90 in response to a request from thereception apparatus 20.

Note that the signaling server 40 corresponds to the above-mentionedsignaling server (e.g., FIG. 11 or FIG. 15 ), and is provided by, forexample, a broadcaster. Further, a plurality of signaling servers 40 maybe placed depending on the operation form. Further, it can be said thatthe signaling server 40 is a transmission apparatus that transmits thesignaling information in response to a request from the receptionapparatus 20.

The broadcast communication system 1 is thus configured. Next, detailedconfigurations of the respective apparatuses constituting the broadcastcommunication system 1 in FIG. 22 will be described.

(Configuration of Transmission Apparatus)

FIG. 23 is a diagram showing a configuration example of the transmissionapparatus 10 in FIG. 22 .

As shown in FIG. 23 , the transmission apparatus 10 is constituted of avideo data acquisition unit 111, a video encoder 112, an audio dataacquisition unit 113, an audio encoder 114, a signaling generator 115, asignaling processing unit 116, a Mux 117, and a transmission unit 118.

The video data acquisition unit 111 acquires video data serving as acomponent from built-in storage an external server, a camera, or thelike, and sullies it to the video encoder 112. The video encoder 112encodes the video data supplied from the video data acquisition unit 111in compliance with the encoding method such as MPEG (Moving PictureExperts Group), and supplies it to the Mux 117.

The audio data acquisition unit 113 acquires audio data serving as acomponent from built-in storage, an external server, a microphone, orthe like, and supplies it to the audio encoder 114. The audio encoder114 encodes the audio data supplied from the audio data acquisition unit113 in compliance with the encoding method such as MPEG, and supplies itto the Mux 117.

The signaling generator 115 uses the original data of the signalinginformation provided from the data providing server 30 to generate thesignaling information, and supplies it to the signaling processing unit116. The signaling processing unit 116 processes the signalinginformation supplied from the signaling generator 115, and supplies itto the Mux 117. Note that in the case where the signaling information isprovided from the data providing server 30, the signaling generator 115supplies the signaling information to the signaling processing unit 116as it is.

The Mux 117 multiplexes the video data supplied from the video encoder112, the audio data supplied from the audio encoder 114, and thesignaling information supplied from the signaling processing unit 116 togenerate a BBP stream in the IP transmission system, and supplies it tothe transmission unit 118. The transmission unit 118 transmits, as thedigital broadcasting signal, the BBP stream supplied from the Mux 117via an antenna 119.

(Configuration of Reception Apparatus)

FIG. 24 is a diagram showing a configuration example of the receptionapparatus 20 in FIG. 22 .

As shown in FIG. 24 , the reception apparatus 20 is constituted of anantenna 211, a channel selection unit 212, a Demux 213, a control unit214, an NVRAM 215, an input unit 216, a communication unit 217, a videodecoder 218, a video output unit 219, a display 220, an audio decoder221, an audio output unit 222, and a speaker 223.

Under the control of the control unit 214, the channel selection unit212 extracts, from the digital broadcasting signal received by theantenna 211, the digital broadcasting signal of a service, with respectto which a selection instruction has been made, demodulates it, andsupplies the resulting BBP stream in the IP transmission system to theDemux 213. Note that the detailed configuration of the channel selectionunit 212 will be described later with reference to FIG. 25 .

Under the control of the control unit 214, the Demux 213 demultiplexesthe BBP stream in the IP transmission system supplied from the channelselection unit 212 into the video data, audio data, and signalinginformation, and outputs them to a block at the subsequent stage.Specifically, the Demux 213 is constituted of a BBP filter 231, an IPfilter 232, a UDP filter 233, an LCT filter 234, and a signaling filter235. The BBP filter 231 performs filtering processing on the basis ofthe BBP header, and supplies the LLS to the signaling filter 235.

The IP filter 232 performs filtering processing on the basis of the IPheader. On the other hand, the UDP filter 233 performs filteringprocessing on the basis of the UDP header. The LCT filter 234 performsfiltering processing on the basis of the LCT header. By the filteringprocessing performed by the IP filter 232 to the LCT filter 234, thevideo data serving as a component is supplied to the video decoder 218and the audio data is supplied to the audio decoder 221.

Note that although it is not necessary to acquire the SCS bybroadcasting in the reception apparatus 20, the scs is supplied to thesignaling filter 235 by the filtering processing performed by the IPfilter 232 to the LCT filter 234 if the SCS is acquired not bycommunication but by broadcasting.

The signaling filter 235 performs filtering processing on the basis ofvarious headers or the like, and appropriately supplies the signalinginformation (LLS) to the control unit 214. Note that in the case where acomponent is transmitted in the FLUTE session, two pieces ofidentification information of the TSI and the TOI are used to restorevarious types of file data.

The control unit 214 controls, on the basis of the signaling informationsupplied from the signaling filter 235, operations of the respectiveunits constituting the reception apparatus 20. The NVRAM 215 is anon-volatile memory, and stores, under the control of the control unit214, various types of data. The input unit 216 supplies an operationsignal to the control unit 214 in response to a user's operation. Thecontrol unit 214 controls operations of the respective unitsconstituting the reception apparatus 20 in response to the operationsignal supplied from the input unit 216.

Under the control of the control unit 214, the communication unit 217accesses the signaling server 40 via the network 90, and receives thesignaling information (SCS). The communication unit 217 supplies, to thecontrol unit 214, the signaling information (SCS) supplied from thesignaling server 40. The control unit 214 controls operations of therespective units constituting the reception apparatus 20 on the basis ofthe signaling information (SCS) supplied from the communication unit217.

Under the control of the control unit 214, the video decoder 218 decodesthe video data supplied from the Demux 213 in the decoding methodcorresponding to the video encoder 112 (FIG. 23 ), and supplies it tothe video output unit 219. The video output unit 219 supplies, to thedisplay 220, the video data supplied from the video decoder 218.Accordingly, on the display 220, the picture of the broadcast content isdisplayed.

Under the control of the control unit 214, the audio decoder 221 decodesthe audio data supplied from the Demux 213 in the decoding methodcorresponding to the audio encoder 114 (FIG. 23 ), and supplies it tothe audio output unit 222. The audio output unit 222 supplies, to thespeaker 223, the audio data supplied from the audio decoder 221.Accordingly, the sound synchronized with the picture of the broadcastcontent is output from the speaker 223.

Note that the reception apparatus 20 further includes a browser forexecuting an application constituted of an HTML file or the like, and aGPS processing unit for acquiring location information, although theyare not shown in the configuration example in FIG. 24 for simplifyingthe description.

(Detailed Configuration of Channel Selection Unit)

FIG. 25 is a diagram showing a detailed configuration example of thechannel selection unit 212 in FIG. 24 .

As shown in FIG. 25 , the channel selection unit 212 is constituted of acontrol unit 251, a tuner 252, an OFDM demodulation unit 253, a preambleextraction unit 254, a PLP extraction unit 255, and a FEC processingunit 256.

The control unit 251 controls, on the basis of the channel selectioninformation (physical parameter) supplied from the control unit 214(FIG. 24 ), operations of the respective units constituting the channelselection unit 212.

Under the control of the control unit 251 using an intermediatefrequency, the tuner 252 extracts, from the digital broadcasting signalreceived by the antenna 211 (FIG. 24 ), the digital broadcasting signalof a service, with respect to which a selection instruction has beenmade, and supplies it to the OFDM demodulation unit 253.

Under the control of the control unit 251 using a parameter fordemodulation, the OFDM demodulation unit 253 performs OFDM (OrthogonalFrequency Division Multiplexing) demodulation on the digitalbroadcasting signal supplied from the tuner 252, and supplies it to thepreamble extraction unit 254 and the PLP extraction unit 255. Thepreamble extraction unit 254 extracts a preamble obtained by the OFDMdemodulation, and supplies it to the control unit 251. The control unit251 uses the preamble supplied from the preamble extraction unit 254 tocontrol operations of the respective units constituting the channelselection unit 212.

Note that the OFDM method is a method of preparing many subcarriersperpendicular to each other in the transmission band, assigning data tothe amplitude and phase of the subcarriers, and performing digitalmodulation with PSK (Phase Shift Keying) or QAM (Quadrature AmplitudeModulation).

Under the control of the control unit 251 using a parameter for PLP suchas a PLP ID, the PLP extraction unit 255 extracts one BBP stream out ofthe plurality of BBP streams obtained by the OFDM demodulation, andsupplies it to the FEC processing unit 256. Under the control of thecontrol unit 251 using a parameter for FEC, the FEC processing unit 256performs forward error correction (FEC) processing on the BBP streamextracted by the PLP extraction unit 255, and supplies theerror-corrected BBP stream to the Demux 213 (FIG. 24 ).

Note that in the channel selection unit 212 shown in FIG. 25 , insteadof the control unit 251, the control unit 214 (FIG. 24 ) may directlycontrol the tuner 252 to the FEC processing unit 256.

(Detailed Configuration of Control Unit)

FIG. 26 is a diagram showing a functional configuration example of apart of the control unit 214 shown in FIG. 24 , which performs channelselection⋅processing.

As shown in FIG. 26 , the control unit 214 includes a signalingacquisition unit 271, a channel selection information acquisition unit272, and a channel selection control unit 273.

By controlling the communication unit 217 (FIG. 24 ), the signalingacquisition unit 271 accesses the signaling server 40 via the network90, acquires the signaling information (SCS), and supplies it to thechannel selection information acquisition unit 272.

The channel selection information acquisition unit 272 acquires, on thebasis of the signaling information (SDP) supplied from the signalingacquisition unit 271, the channel selection information, and supplies itto the channel selection control unit 273.

The channel selection control unit 273 controls, on the basis of thechannel selection information (physical parameter) supplied from thechannel selection information acquisition unit 272, the channelselection processing performed by the channel selection unit 212.

(Configuration of Signaling Server)

FIG. 27 is a diagram showing a configuration example of the signalingserver 40 shown in FIG. 22 .

As shown in FIG. 27 , the signaling server 40 is constituted of acontrol unit 411, a communication unit 412, a signaling generator 413,and a signaling storing unit 414.

The control unit 411 controls operations of the respective unitsconstituting the signaling server 40. Under the control of the controlunit 411, the communication unit 412 supplies, to the signalinggenerator 413, the original data of the signaling information providedfrom the data providing server 30.

Under the control of the control unit 411, the signaling generator 413generates, on the basis of the original data of the signalinginformation supplied from the communication unit 412, the signalinginformation (e.g., SCS), and causes the signaling storing unit 414 tostore it. Note that in the case where the SCS such as USD, MPD, SDP, andFDD is generated as the signaling information, the files thereof may betreated as one file in a ZIP file format.

The control unit 411 constantly monitors the communication condition ofthe communication unit 412, reads and acquires the signaling informationstored in the signaling storing unit 414, and supplies it to thecommunication unit 412, in the case where the signaling information isrequested from the reception apparatus 20. Under the control of thecontrol unit 411, the communication unit 412 transmits the signalinginformation to the reception apparatus 20 via the network 90.

5. FLOWS OF PROCESSING PERFORMED BY APPARATUSES

Next, a flow of processing performed by the respective apparatusesconstituting the broadcast communication system 1 in FIG. 22 will bedescribed with reference to the flowcharts in FIGS. 28 to 32 .

(Digital Broadcasting Signal Transmission Processing)

First, referring to a flowchart in FIG. 28 , the digital broadcastingsignal transmission processing performed by the transmission apparatus10 shown in FIG. 22 will be described.

In Step S111, the video data acquisition unit 111 acquires video dataserving as a component from storage, a server, or the like, and suppliesit to the video encoder 112. The audio data acquisition unit 113acquires audio data serving as a component from storage, an externalserver, or the like, and supplies it to the audio encoder 114.

In Step S112, the video encoder 112 encodes the video data supplied fromthe video data acquisition unit 111 in compliance with the encodingmethod such as MPEG, and supplies it to the Mux 117. The audio encoder114 encodes the audio data supplied from the audio data acquisition unit113 in compliance with the encoding method such as MPEG, and supplies itto the Mux 117.

In Step S113, the signaling generator 115 uses the original data of thesignaling information provided from the data providing server 30 togenerate the signaling information, and supplies it to the signalingprocessing unit 116. In Step S114, the signaling processing unit 116processes the signaling information supplied from the signalinggenerator 115, and supplies it to the Mux 117.

In Step S115, the Mux 117 multiplexes the video data supplied from thevideo encoder 112, the audio data supplied from the audio encoder 114,and the signaling information supplied from the signaling processingunit 116 to generate the BBP stream in the IP transmission system, andsupplies it to the transmission unit 118.

In Step S116, the transmission unit 118 transmits the BBP streamsupplied from the Mux 117 as the digital broadcasting signal via theantenna 119. When the processing of Step S116 is finished, the digitalbroadcasting signal transmission processing shown in FIG. 28 isfinished.

In the above, the digital broadcasting signal transmission processinghas been described.

(Digital Broadcasting Signal Reception Processing)

Next, the digital broadcasting signal reception processing performed bythe reception apparatus 20 shown in FIG. 22 will be described withreference to the flowchart in FIG. 29 .

In Step S211, the control unit 214 determines, on the basis of theoperation signal supplied from the input unit 216, whether or not achannel selection operation of a service has been performed by the user.In the case where it is determined that the channel selection operationhas not been performed by the user in Step S211, the determinationprocessing of Step S211 is repeated.

In Step S211, after the channel selection operation of a service isperformed by the user, the processing proceeds to Step S212. Herein, adesired service is selected from the list of services (programs) thatcan be used depending on the current position presented by theapplication, for example.

In Step S212, by controlling the communication unit 217, the signalingacquisition unit 271 accesses the signaling server 40 via the network 90to acquire the signaling information.

In Step S213, the channel selection information acquisition unit 272performs the channel selection information acquisition processing. Inthis channel selection information acquisition processing, the channelselection information acquisition unit 272 acquires, on the basis of thesignaling information (SDP) supplied from the signaling acquisition unit271, the channel selection information (physical parameter). Note thatdetailed content of the channel selection information acquisitionprocessing will be described later with reference to the flowchart inFIG. 30 or FIG. 31 .

In Step S214, the channel selection control unit 273 controls, on thebasis of the channel selection information (physical parameter) acquiredin the processing of Step S213, the channel selection unit 212 toperform channel selection processing. By this channelselection⋅processing, the digital broadcasting signal of a service, withrespect to which a selection instruction has been made in the processingof Step S211, is extracted from the digital broadcasting signal receivedby the antenna 211, and demodulated to acquire the BBP stream.

In Step S215, the control unit 214 controls, on the basis of thesignaling information (SCS) acquired in the processing of Step S212, theDemux 213 to perform filtering processing. By this filtering processing,video data and audio data are acquired from the BBP stream supplied fromthe channel selection unit 212, and supplied to the video decoder 218and the audio decoder 221.

In Step S216, the video decoder 218 decodes, under the control of thecontrol unit 214, the video data supplied from the Demux 213 in thedecoding method corresponding to the video encoder 112 (FIG. 23 ), andsupplies it to the video output unit 219. The audio decoder 221 decodes,under the control of the control unit 214, the audio data supplied fromthe Demux 213 in the decoding method corresponding to the audio encoder114 (FIG. 23 ), and supplies it to the audio output unit 222.

In Step S217, the video output unit 219 supplies, to the display 220,the video data supplied from the video decoder 218. The audio outputunit 222 supplies, to the speaker 223, the audio data supplied from theaudio decoder 221. Accordingly, the picture of the broadcast content isdisplayed on the display 220, and the sound synchronized with thepicture is output from the speaker 223.

When the processing of Step S217 is finished, the digital broadcastingsignal reception processing shown in FIG. 29 is finished.

In the above, the digital broadcasting signal reception processing hasbeen described.

(First Channel Selection Information Acquisition Processing)

Next, detailed content of the first channel selection informationacquisition processing corresponding to the processing of Step S213shown in FIG. 29 will be described with reference to the flowchart inFIG. 30 .

In Step S231, the channel selection information acquisition unit 272analyzes the SDP acquired from the signaling server 40. When theanalysis processing of Step S231 is finished, the processing proceeds toStep S232.

In Step S232, the channel selection information acquisition unit 272acquires, on the basis of the analysis results obtained in theprocessing of Step S231, the channel selection information (physicalparameter) described in the SCD in accordance with the pointerinformation of the SDP. When the processing of Step S232 is finished,the processing returns to Step S213 shown in FIG. 29 , and thesubsequent processing is performed.

In the above, the first channel selection information acquisitionprocessing has been described. This first channel selection informationacquisition processing is processing corresponding to theabove-mentioned first embodiment, and by describing, in the SDP, thepointer information for accessing the channel selection information(physical parameter) included in the SCD, the channel selectioninformation (physical parameter) is acquired from the SCD in accordancewith the pointer information in the case where the channel selectionoperation of a service has been performed by the user.

(Second Channel Selection Information Acquisition Processing)

Next, detailed content of the second channel selection informationacquisition processing corresponding to the processing of Step S213shown in FIG. 29 will be described with reference to the flowchart inFIG. 31 .

In Step S251, the channel selection information acquisition unit 272analyzes the SDP acquired from the signaling server 40. When theanalysis processing of Step S251 is finished, the processing proceeds toStep S252.

In Step S252, the channel selection information acquisition unit 272acquires, on the basis of the analysis results obtained in theprocessing of Step S251, the channel selection information (physicalparameter) described in the SDP. When the processing of Step S252 isfinished, the processing returns to Step S213 shown in FIG. 29 , and thesubsequent processing is performed.

In the above, the second channel selection information acquisitionprocessing has been described. This second channel selection informationacquisition processing is processing corresponding to theabove-mentioned second embodiment, and by directly describing, in theSDP, the channel selection information (physical parameter), the channelselection information (physical parameter) is acquired in the case wherethe channel selection operation of a service has been performed by theuser.

(Signaling Providing Processing)

Finally, signaling providing processing performed by the signalingserver 40 shown in FIG. 22 will be described with reference to theflowchart in FIG. 32 .

In Step S411, the signaling generator 413 generates, under the controlof the control unit 411, the signaling information on the basis of theoriginal data of the signaling information supplied from thecommunication unit 412. In Step S412, the signaling storing unit 414stores the signaling information generated in the processing of StepS411.

In Step S413, the control unit 411 constantly monitors the communicationcondition of the communication unit 412, and determines whether or notthe signaling information has been requested from the receptionapparatus 20. In the case where it is determined that the signalinginformation has not been requested from the reception apparatus 20 inStep S413, the determination processing of Step S413 is repeated. InStep S413, after the signaling information is requested from thereception apparatus 20, the processing proceeds to Step S414.

In Step S414, the control unit 411 reads and acquires the signalinginformation stored in the signaling storing unit 414, and supplies it tothe communication unit 412. In Step S415, the communication unit 412transmits (provides), under the control of the control unit 411, thesignaling information to the reception apparatus 20 via the network 90.When the processing of Step S415 is finished, the signaling providingprocessing shown in FIG. 32 is finished.

In the above, the signaling providing processing has been described.

6. MODIFIED EXAMPLE

Note that although the AV content viewed by the reception apparatus 20is transmitted by broadcasting as the broadcast content in the abovedescription, a streaming server may be provided on the network 90 tostream and deliver the content as communication content.

Further, although the USD, MPD, SDP, and FDD are transmitted as the SCSin the above description, the SCS may include other signalinginformation such as SPD (Service Parameter Description) and IS(Initialization Segment), for example. Herein, the SPD includes variousparameters defined at a service level. On the other hand, the IS iscontrol information that is, if (files of) the components are segmentedand transmitted as segments complying with the ISO Base Media FileFormat standard, transmitted together with media segments storingsegment data. Note that the IS is transmitted in units of componentssuch as video and audio. Further, these signaling information items aredescribed with a markup language, for example, an XML.

Further, the SCD is transmitted as the LLS in the above description.However, the LLS may include, for example, other signaling informationsuch as EAD (Emergency Alerting Description) and RRD (Region RatingDescription). Herein, the EAD includes information relating to emergencynotice. On the other hand, the RRD includes rating information. Notethat these signaling information items are described with a markuplanguage, for example, an XML.

Further, although “D” that is the abbreviation of Description is used asthe name of the signaling information in the above description, “T” thatis the abbreviation of Table may be used. For example, the SCD (ServiceConfiguration Description) may be described as an SCT (ServiceConfiguration Table). Further, for example, the SPD (Service ParameterDescription) may be described as an SPT (Service Parameter Table). Itshould be noted that the difference of those names is a formaldifference between “Description” and “Table” and the substantialcontents of the signaling information items are not different.

8. CONFIGURATION OF COMPUTER

The above-mentioned series of processing may be executed by hardware ormay be executed by software. If the series of processing is executed bysoftware, programs configuring that software are installed into acomputer. FIG. 33 is a diagram showing a configuration example ofhardware of a computer that executes the above-mentioned series ofprocessing according to the programs.

In a computer 900, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 901, a ROM (Read OnlyMemory) 902, and a RAM (Random Access Memory) 903 are connected to oneanother via a bus 904. An input/output interface 905 is furtherconnected to the bus 904. An input unit 906, an output unit 907, arecording unit 908, a communication unit 909, and a drive 910 areconnected to the input/output interface 905.

The input unit 906 is constituted of a keyboard, a mouse, a microphone,and the like. The output unit 907 is constituted of a display, aspeaker, and the like. The recording unit 908 is constituted of a harddisk, a nonvolatile memory, and the like. The communication unit 909 isconstituted of a network interface and the like. The drive 910 drives aremovable medium 911 such as a magnetic disk, an optical disc, amagneto-optical disk, and a semiconductor memory.

In the thus configured computer 900, the above-mentioned series ofprocessing is performed by the CPU 901 loading programs stored in theROM 902 and the recording unit 908 into the RAM 903 via the input/outputinterface 905 and the bus 904 and executing them.

The programs executed by the computer 900 (CPU 901) can be recorded andprovided on the removable medium 911 as a package medium, for example.Further, the programs can be provided via a wired or wirelesstransmission medium such as a local-area network, the Internet, anddigital satellite broadcasting.

In the computer 900, the programs can be installed into the recordingunit 908 via the input/output interface 905 by the removable medium 911being mounted on the drive 910. Further, the programs can be received bythe communication unit 909 via the wired or wireless transmission mediumand installed into the recording unit 908. Otherwise, the programs canbe installed into the ROM 902 or the recording unit 908 in advance.

In the present specification, the processing executed by the computeraccording to the programs does not necessarily need to be performed in atime sequence in the order described as the flowchart. That is, theprocessing executed by the computer according to the programs includesprocesses executed in parallel or individually (e.g., parallelprocessing or processing by objects). Further, the programs may beprocessed by a single computer (processor) or may be processed by aplurality of computers in a distributed manner.

Note that embodiments of the present technology are not limited to theabove-mentioned embodiments and various modifications can be madewithout departing from the gist of the present technology.

It should be noted that the present technology may take the followingconfigurations.

(1)

A reception apparatus, including:

a reception unit that receives a broadcast wave of digital broadcastingusing an IP (Internet Protocol) transmission system;

a communication unit that receives first signaling information foracquiring broadcast content transmitted by the broadcast wave throughcommunication with a server via a network;

an acquisition unit that acquires, on the basis of the first signalinginformation, a physical parameter used in a physical layer in ahierarchy of a protocol of the IP transmission system; and

a control unit that controls, on the basis of the physical parameter,operations of respective units that perform channel selectionprocessing.

(2)

The reception apparatus according to (1), in which

the acquisition unit acquires, on the basis of pointer informationincluded in the first signaling information, the physical parameterincluded in second signaling information transmitted in a second layer,the second layer being a lower layer than a first layer in the hierarchyof the protocol of the IP transmission system, the first signalinginformation being transmitted in the first layer.

(3)

The reception apparatus according to (2), in which

the pointer information is information for accessing the physicalparameter in a particular service in accordance with a channel selectionoperation.

(4)

The reception apparatus according to (3), in which

the pointer information includes a country code assigned to eachcountry, a first identifier assigned to each broadcaster as a uniquevalue, a second identifier assigned to each stream as a unique value,and a third identifier assigned to each service as a unique value.

(5)

The reception apparatus according to any one of (2) to (4), in which

the first signaling information is an SDP (Session DescriptionProtocol), and

the second signaling information is an SCD (Service ConfigurationDescription).

(6)

The reception apparatus according to (1), in which

the acquisition unit acquires the physical parameter included in thefirst signaling information.

(7)

The reception apparatus according to (6), in which

the physical parameter includes a center frequency, an identifier foridentifying a PLP (Physical Layer Pipe), and a value of a preambleincluded in a frame defined in the IP transmission system.

(8)

The reception apparatus according to (6), in which

the physical parameter includes a center frequency, a value of an L1-presignaling constituting a preamble included in a frame defined in the IPtransmission system, and a value of a target PLP (Physical Layer Pipe)of L1-post signaling constituting the preamble.

(9)

The reception apparatus according to any one of (6) to (8), in which

the first signaling information is an SDP (Session DescriptionProtocol).

(10)

A reception method for a reception apparatus, including the steps of, bythe reception apparatus:

receiving a broadcast wave of digital broadcasting using an IPtransmission system;

receiving first signaling information for acquiring broadcast contenttransmitted by the broadcast wave through communication with a servervia a network;

acquiring, on the basis of the first signaling information, a physicalparameter used in a physical layer in a hierarchy of a protocol of theIP transmission system; and

controlling, on the basis of the physical parameter, operations ofrespective units that perform channel selection processing.

(11)

A transmission apparatus, including:

a generator that generates first signaling information for acquiringbroadcast content transmitted by a broadcast wave of digitalbroadcasting using an IP (Internet Protocol) transmission system, thefirst signaling information including information on a physicalparameter used in a physical layer in a hierarchy of a protocol of theIP transmission system; and

a transmission unit that transmits the first signaling information to areceiver via a network in response to a request from the receiver.

(12)

The transmission apparatus according to (11), in which

the first signaling information includes pointer information foraccessing the physical parameter included in second signalinginformation transmitted in a second layer, the second layer being alower layer than a first layer in the hierarchy of the protocol of theIP transmission system, the first signaling information beingtransmitted in the first layer.

(13)

The transmission apparatus according to (12), in which

the pointer information is information for accessing the physicalparameter in a particular service in accordance with channel selectionoperation.

(14)

The transmission apparatus according to (13), in which

the pointer information includes a country code assigned to eachcountry, a first identifier assigned to each broadcaster as a uniquevalue, a second identifier assigned to each stream as a unique value,and a third identifier assigned to each service as a unique value.

(15)

The transmission apparatus according to any one of (12) to (14), inwhich

the first signaling information is an SDP (Session DescriptionProtocol), and

the second signaling information is an SCD (Service ConfigurationDescription).

(16)

The transmission apparatus according to (11), in which

the first signaling information includes the physical parameter.

(17)

The transmission apparatus according to (16), in which

the physical parameter includes a center frequency, an identifier foridentifying a PLP (Physical Layer Pipe), and a value of a preambleincluded in a frame defined in the IP transmission system.

(18)

The transmission apparatus according to (16), in which

the physical parameter includes a center frequency, a value of L1-presignaling constituting a preamble included in a frame defined in the IPtransmission system, and a value of a target PLP (Physical Layer Pipe)of L1-post signaling constituting the preamble.

(19)

The transmission apparatus according to any one of (16) to (18), inwhich

the first signaling information is an SDP (Session DescriptionProtocol).

(20)

A transmission method for a transmission apparatus, including the stepsof, by the transmission apparatus:

generating first signaling information for acquiring broadcast contenttransmitted by a broadcast wave of digital broadcasting using an IP(Internet Protocol) transmission system, the first signaling informationincluding information on a physical parameter used in a physical layerin a hierarchy of a protocol of the IP transmission system; and

transmitting the first signaling information to a receiver via a networkin response to a request from the receiver.

DESCRIPTION OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

1 broadcast communication system, 10 transmission apparatus, 20reception apparatus, 30 data providing server, 40 signaling server, 90network, 111 video data acquisition unit, 113 audio data acquisitionunit, 115 signaling generator, 117 Mux, 118 transmission unit, 212channel selection unit, 213 Demux, 214 control unit, 217 communicationunit, 271 signaling acquisition unit, 272 channel selection informationacquisition unit, 273 channel selection control unit, 900 computer, 901CPU

1-20. (canceled)
 21. A reception apparatus, comprising: a receiverconfigured to receive a digital broadcast signal via a firstcommunication path using an IP (Internet Protocol) transmission system;and circuitry coupled to the receiver and configured to: acquire firstsignaling information for acquiring at least one component of audiocomponents or video components of a service channel of broadcastcontent, the at least one component being included in the digitalbroadcast signal, wherein the first signaling information is servicechannel signaling including at least one of a user service descriptionor a media presentation description provided in the service channeltogether with the at least one component of the audio components or thevideo components of the service channel; acquire second signalinginformation relating to characteristics of at least one service channelincluded in the broadcast content, wherein the second signalinginformation includes physical parameter information, and is conveyed vialow level signaling; and perform channel selection and acquire thecomponent based on the first signaling information and thecharacteristics of the at least one service channel included in thesecond signaling information.
 22. The reception apparatus according toclaim 21, further comprising a display, the circuitry being coupled tothe display and being configured to cause at least one of the videocomponents of the service channel to be displayed by the display. 23.The reception apparatus according to claim 21, wherein the physicalparameter information includes a physical layer pipe identifier.
 24. Thereception apparatus according to claim 21, wherein the second signalinginformation is gathered and stored in a memory during an initialscanning processing.
 25. The reception apparatus according to claim 21,wherein the second signaling information is transmitted in a secondlayer different from a first layer in a hierarchy of a protocol of theIP transmission system in which the first signaling information istransmitted.
 26. The reception apparatus according to claim 21, whereinthe physical parameter information includes a value in L1 signaling. 27.The reception apparatus according to claim 21, wherein the physicalparameter information includes a frequency of the digital broadcastsignal.
 28. The reception apparatus according to claim 21, wherein thephysical parameter information includes a value of a parameter of aphysical layer in a hierarchy of a protocol of the IP transmissionsystem.
 29. The reception apparatus according to claim 21, wherein thephysical parameter information includes a value in a preamble includedin a frame defined in the IP transmission system.
 30. A reception methodfor a reception apparatus, comprising: receiving a digital broadcastsignal via a first communication path using an IP (Internet Protocol)transmission system; acquiring first signaling information for acquiringat least one component of audio components or video components of aservice channel of broadcast content, the at least one component beingincluded in the digital broadcast signal, wherein the first signalinginformation is service channel signaling including at least one of auser service description or a media presentation description provided inthe service channel together with the at least one component of theaudio components or the video components of the service channel;acquiring second signaling information relating to characteristics of atleast one service channel included in the broadcast content, wherein thesecond signaling information includes physical parameter information,and is conveyed via low level signaling; and performing channelselection and acquiring the component based on the first signalinginformation and the characteristics of the at least one service channelincluded in the second signaling information.
 31. The reception methodaccording to claim 30, wherein the physical parameter informationincludes a physical layer pipe identifier.
 32. The reception methodaccording to claim 30, wherein the second signaling information isgathered and stored in a memory of the reception apparatus during aninitial scanning processing.
 33. The reception method according to claim30, wherein the second signaling information is transmitted in a secondlayer different layer from a first layer in a hierarchy of a protocol ofthe IP transmission system in which the first signaling information istransmitted.
 34. The reception method according to claim 30, wherein thephysical parameter information includes a value in L1 signaling.
 35. Thereception method according to claim 30, wherein the physical parameterinformation includes a frequency of the digital broadcast signal. 36.The reception method according to claim 30, wherein the physicalparameter information includes a value of a parameter of a physicallayer in a hierarchy of a protocol of the IP transmission system. 37.The reception method according to claim 30, wherein the physicalparameter information includes a value in a preamble included in a framedefined in the IP transmission system.